The Tacoma housing market has had it’s share of attention in recent years; median prices have shot up, sellers are fielding multiple offers and accepting offers above list price, while buyers have had to build up a tolerance for submitting offers that may not be accepted.
Is this ‘hot market’ just something that is happening in Tacoma and Pierce County? Well... no and yes. No, it’s not just happening in Tacoma and Pierce County. Yes, it does stand out from the rest of the metro areas, and Washington’s appreciation stands out from the rest of the 50 states.
The metro housing markets across the United States are facing a similar trend. According to the National Association of Realtors (NAR), all 181 metro areas they track saw 3rd quarter home prices increase from a year ago. Low inventory and record-low mortgage rates played major factors.
So where does Tacoma fall? According to the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA), the Tacoma-Lakewood metro area ranks 2nd as the second highest metro housing market in terms of year over year appreciation in the 3rd quarter of 2020.
The Tacoma-Lakewood area saw an 11.2% YOY increase from the 2nd quarter of 2019, and a 1.6% increase from 1st quarter to 2nd quarter.
To illustrate how this increase impacted homebuyers, if a home was worth $300,000 in the 2nd quarter of 2019, it’s value would increase to $333,600 in the 2nd quarter of 2020.
